Shifts And Grins Reverse Light Brackets And Diode Dynamics Lights

[RedBeard]

Finally found myself standing behind the truck while it was running, so I snapped a pic.
Tow hook lights and the hitch light, all from @Shifts_And_Grins. You don’t want to look under the bumper…trailer harness adapters attached to trailer harness adapters LOL.

View attachment 96564

Nice! Cable ties cable ties cable ties

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

Finally found myself standing behind the truck while it was running, so I snapped a pic.
Tow hook lights and the hitch light, all from @Shifts_And_Grins. You don’t want to look under the bumper…trailer harness adapters attached to trailer harness adapters LOL.

View attachment 96564

Looks great!

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

Nice! Cable ties cable ties cable ties

^^^^THIS^^^^^

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

Are the hitch reverse lights completely flush with the hitch? I spent all weekend working on my garage to see if there was any way to get the TRX to fit. I finally got it done and I have 1/8th of an inch clearance front and back. I had to remove my hitch cover because it stuck out 1/4 of an inch. Boy is it tight but I don't like the open hitch look.

I can work on the motor while I'm in the house

Where it normally sits, it sticks out ever so slightly. At some point I pushed mine in flush and never noticed it until I removed all of the parts off of my 2022.

 

[Tacoma2TRX]

Here is an Amazon link to the harness I started with.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007EA6WQU?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

Below is a wiring diagram for the 5 flat trailer harness that is part of the link above.
View attachment 39852

Next is the wiring diagram and a photo of the wiring harness the kit already comes with.
View attachment 39853View attachment 39854
To start, take your Curt adapter harness which will be the Plug and Play portion of the harness and locate the connector that has five wires and a flat connecter.
View attachment 39863
Cut the blue and brown wires in this harness. (Note the wiring diagram above shows the blue as purple). Next I stripped the wires and slipped heat shrink tubing over the wires. I crimped the male ends(*******USE FEMALE ENDS*******I PUT THE WRONG ONES ON FIRST) on to the wires and then soldered them as well. You don't have to solder them but I always prefer to. After crimping and soldering the male ends on to the blue and brown wires, I slid the heat shrink up and heated it up to cover the soldered end.
View attachment 39873View attachment 39874View attachment 39875View attachment 39876
Next I removed the unused wires and plug from the harness by removing the plastic loom that came on the harness and cutting them short near the connection points. I placed heat shrink over the ends and heated them up. The last thing I did to prepare the harness was slip some Alex Tech Expandable Sleeving over the wires and used electrical tape and heat shrink to secure the ends of the expandable sleeving over the wires.
View attachment 39877View attachment 39878
Your plug and play harness is now built. Now onto the install.

Disconnect your connector that plugs into your trailer light plug behind the bumper on your truck. Plug the trucks wiring harness into one side of your new plug and play harness and the other side of your plug and play harness to the trailer lights connector on the back side of your bumper. Now take your Diode Dynamics Reverse Light Wiring Harness and plug the Yellow Wire from your Diode Harness into the Blue Wire of you plug and play harness. Plug the Blue Wire of your Diode harness into the Brown Wire of your Plug and play harness. (I know, I know it feels like Blue should connect to blue to me as well but I am working with two harnesses from two manufacturers so in this case Blue DOES NOT connect to blue. Sorry ladies and gentlemen.)

Now you can connect the plugs on your Diode Dynamics Reverse Light Harness to your Lights. Run the rest of the harness to the front of the truck. You have a few options at this point.

Option 1:
You can hook up the power and ground wires respectively from your Diode Dynamics harness and coil up the remaining wires and switch and be done. If you leave the switch in the center neutral position your lights will work automatically.

Option 2: You can do exactly as you did above but route the wires inside the truck and mount the switch at your desired location inside. This will give you the option to have the lights work automatically when the switch is in the neutral position, Turn on the white main beam by flipping the switch to one position or manually turn on the red back lights by flipping the switch the opposite position.

Option 3: You can ditch the switch with Diode Harness and wire in to the auxiliary/upfitter switches. There are already writeups and videos on that but if I need to update this with specifics, I will.

Let me know if I left anything out or if you have any specific questions. The harness isn't terribly hard to build and I hope this helps anyone that would like to save money and do it themselves. There are shortcuts and easier ways to build it but I don't work that way. If I am building something for you or me, I will take the time and do it the way I feel is best.

I will make several of these harnesses for people that wish to buy them from me. Full transparency they aren't that expensive to build but I have to charge for the time it takes me as well. My cost on the materials is close to but a little less than $40 per plug and play harness. That does not include the Diode Dynamics Harness. I will build a few more to come up with a price I feel is fair for my time and get them up on the site.

Thank you all for the support and I hope this helps some of you that want to do it on your own! It is my way of giving back when and where I can.

Pulled the trigger just now on this set up with the plug and play. May be reaching out with questions as I also want to wire it to an AUX switch. Looking forward to getting this done in time for a river trip I'm taking.

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

Pulled the trigger just now on this set up with the plug and play. May be reaching out with questions as I also want to wire it to an AUX switch. Looking forward to getting this done in time for a river trip I'm taking.

Nice!!!! Those will ship out Monday. Let me know how I can assist!

 

[Millertime]

Can you confirm which kit will work with aux switch as well as brake and backup? Thanks

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

Can you confirm which kit will work with aux switch as well as brake and backup? Thanks

The brake light kits don’t work with the aux switch without modifying the harness. The kits that work with with aux switch are tail lights, reverse lights and manual reverse light. If you really want tail lights, brake lights, reverse lights and manual reverse light, it can be done fairly easily by modifying the harness that comes with the C1R Plus Brake kit. Let me know if I can assist further.

Reverse Light Plus Brake and Running Light Kit Ram TRX and Ram 1500 C1R Lights | Shifts and Grins Fabrication LLC

*Note the center light shown in the photos is a separate kit sold separately. It is the Hitchmount kit* Want to run the best reverse light available for Ram Trucks? If you have a Ram TRX or any Ram 1500 running our rear TRX Tow Hook Brackets (sold seperately), look no further. This kit is a...

www.shiftsandgrinsfabrication.com

 

[Millertime]

I bought the following kit from you yesterday. I added the plug and play harness. I am assuming this will get me aux plus tail lights, reverse lights and manual reverse light? Thanks

Purchased:
Reverse Light Kit For Rear TRX Tow Hooks With Brackets, Diode Dynamics SSC1 Pro Lights and Wiring Harness
1 x $444.99
Variation: Regular • Plug and Play Add on Harness: Plug And Play Add On Harness

 

[Shifts_And_Grins]

I bought the following kit from you yesterday. I added the plug and play harness. I am assuming this will get me aux plus tail lights, reverse lights and manual reverse light? Thanks

Purchased:
Reverse Light Kit For Rear TRX Tow Hooks With Brackets, Diode Dynamics SSC1 Pro Lights and Wiring Harness
1 x $444.99
Variation: Regular • Plug and Play Add on Harness: Plug And Play Add On Harness

You are correct. That order shipped so you should be seeing it soon. The truck was late today so tracking should update tonight or in the morning.

 

[ALJ]

I bought the following kit from you yesterday. I added the plug and play harness. I am assuming this will get me aux plus tail lights, reverse lights and manual reverse light? Thanks

Purchased:
Reverse Light Kit For Rear TRX Tow Hooks With Brackets, Diode Dynamics SSC1 Pro Lights and Wiring Harness
1 x $444.99
Variation: Regular • Plug and Play Add on Harness: Plug And Play Add On Harness

How did your install go? Did you have to modify anything to get the Aux connection, or did this kit cover all of it? I just picked up this kit to go along with the S&G behind the grill light bar.

 

[ALJ]

You are correct. That order shipped so you should be seeing it soon. The truck was late today so tracking should update tonight or in the morning.

Question for ya. Have the lights hooked up but they only turn red when DRL are turned on, and white when I hit the AUX button. Just realized that when in reverse the white lights do not turn on, and when in reverse the red light does not turn on.

Is this how they are supposed to operate? I thought I would have both the brake and the reverse lights functioning but maybe not. This would be in addition to the Aux switch and DRLs. Thanks!

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Question for ya. Have the lights hooked up but they only turn red when DRL are turned on, and white when I hit the AUX button. Just realized that when in reverse the white lights do not turn on, and when in reverse the red light does not turn on.

Is this how they are supposed to operate? I thought I would have both the brake and the reverse lights functioning but maybe not. This would be in addition to the Aux switch and DRLs. Thanks!

They should definitely work when in reverse if you have the correct harness.

They should be red when the actual headlights are on.

I just used the Auto harness and tapped into the red wire and ran a wire to my Aux. I didn’t wire it for brake lights

 

[ALJ]

They should definitely work when in reverse if you have the correct harness.

They should be red when the actual headlights are on.

I just used the Auto harness and tapped into the red wire and ran a wire to my Aux. I didn’t wire it for brake lights

Unfortunately they do not work in reverse. Looked all over the place for pics of the wire harnesses, or explanations, but nada. Nothing on the S&G site about the instructions so I only have access to the Aux switch (White) and DRLs (Red). When both Aux switch and DRLs are turned on the white light prevails.

@Shifts_And_Grins - any insight? Can you confirm on your Plug N Play trailer harness if the wires are supposed to connect trailer tow park light and trailer tow backup lamp fees only, or should there be a connection to the electric brake feed? Do I need another power source since I hooked into the Aux instead of the battery? Thx

 

[CustomPerformance]

Anyone have some feedback on how well the C1R lights broadcast light to the side of the truck? I'm running the ADD Bomber bumper on the back of my TRX, and have Rigid diffused beam pattern back up lights. It lights up the back pretty good, but not great on the sides. I have to back into the space where I park my TRX at night, and I'm right along a metal fence that I have to get pretty close to in order to get out of the driver's door. With tinted windows the black fence is not that easy to see. It would be nice to have more light broadcast to the side than just straight back. I was hoping the beam pattern of the C1R was either a bit more wide, or the lights could be angled to the side more. Looking at the bracket it doesn't look like they can be angled at all.

 

[jashearer]

Anyone have some feedback on how well the C1R lights broadcast light to the side of the truck? I'm running the ADD Bomber bumper on the back of my TRX, and have Rigid diffused beam pattern back up lights. It lights up the back pretty good, but not great on the sides. I have to back into the space where I park my TRX at night, and I'm right along a metal fence that I have to get pretty close to in order to get out of the driver's door. With tinted windows the black fence is not that easy to see. It would be nice to have more light broadcast to the side than just straight back. I was hoping the beam pattern of the C1R was either a bit more wide, or the lights could be angled to the side more. Looking at the bracket it doesn't look like they can be angled at all.

The lights mount to the bracket with 1 bolt... while the bracket cannot be angled (3 bolts) you can most definitely aim the pods out wider if you like.

The stock reverse lighting was horrendous (I back into my garage when I park) and I can confirm that these are a great upgrade. I do not have tinted windows, so I can't confirm if its "enough".

I can take some pictures tonight if that would be helpful?

Jay

 

[ParadigmDawg]

The lights mount to the bracket with 1 bolt... while the bracket cannot be angled (3 bolts) you can most definitely aim the pods out wider if you like.

The stock reverse lighting was horrendous (I back into my garage when I park) and I can confirm that these are a great upgrade. I do not have tinted windows, so I can't confirm if its "enough".

I can take some pictures tonight if that would be helpful?

Jay

Are you using tow hook mounts? On the ADD bumper they are more built in so they may get blocked by the bumper if you turn them. I really like mine but I don't drive much at night unless I'm on a trail.

 

[jashearer]

Are you using tow hook mounts? On the ADD bumper they are more built in so they may get blocked by the bumper if you turn them. I really like mine but I don't drive much at night unless I'm on a trail.

Got it… I have tow hook mounts sorry didn’t catch the ADD specific mount.

 

[CustomPerformance]

The lights mount to the bracket with 1 bolt... while the bracket cannot be angled (3 bolts) you can most definitely aim the pods out wider if you like.

The stock reverse lighting was horrendous (I back into my garage when I park) and I can confirm that these are a great upgrade. I do not have tinted windows, so I can't confirm if its "enough".

I can take some pictures tonight if that would be helpful?

Jay

If you can get some pics at night of the amount of light broadcast to the side it would be great. Ie, from the driver's seat looking into the side mirrors. No worries if that's a PITA. Thanks!

 

[CustomPerformance]

Are you using tow hook mounts? On the ADD bumper they are more built in so they may get blocked by the bumper if you turn them. I really like mine but I don't drive much at night unless I'm on a trail.

Are you running the tow hook mounts, or just the lights in the ADD bumper? I'm thinking of adding the tow hook mounts in addition to the bumper lights I have. I wondered if the ADD bumper would block them at all.